Sin Swanky: Vegas Welcomes The Cromwell

The Strip's "first stand-alone boutique hotel" will soon bow.

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IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO LAS VEGAS... odds are very good that you paid a visit to Las Vegas Boulevard, or, if you prefer, The Strip. (You totally prefer, right? Who doesn't utter "The Strip" a hundred times while Sin-City-ing it up?) And if you've been to The Strip, there's a good chance you've been near the intersection with the Bellagio Fountains. That's where Las Vegas Boulevard meets Flamingo Road. And kattykorner from the fountains? A property you might have also passed through or called upon, if you've visited Sin City since the late '70s. What once was the Barbary Coast, and later Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, has gotten a luxe redo, and is now ready to debut as "the first stand-alone boutique hotel" on The Strip. It's name? The Cromwell. It's open date? Wednesday, May 21. And room reservations? They're now open.

INSIDE THE CROMWELL: The 188-room hotel could be described as intimate for The Strip, but that suits a boutiquery's style just fine. The casino will still be in place, all 40,000-square-feet of it, and restaurants and bars, too. But some mondo names'll be on the marquee, like Giada di Laurentiis. Her restaurant -- Giada -- will feature "fresh pastas made by hand daily and a signature antipasto bar." Drai's will still be in the house -- it was part of the Bill's Gamblin' Hall scene -- doing the late-night club experience. And shall there be suites? Please, it's Vegas. There'll be 19 on the property, including the 2,550-foot Cromwell Suite. All the rooms will boast a vintage-y touch, though, with "trunk-style furnishings" and hardwood floors.

Want to eye more renderings and the palm-adjacent rooftop pool? The Cromwell's Facebook page has all the action.